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How important is the tonearm?

I am presently shopping for a new tonearm for my new turntable. I looked at basic arm like the Jelco (500$) but also at arms like Reed, Graham, Tri-Planar all costing over 4000$.

The turntable is a TTWeights Gem Ultra and the cartridge I have on hand is a brand new Benz Ruby 3.

Here is a couple of questions for the analogue experts.

1. Is the quality of the tonearm important?

2. Is it easy to hear the difference between expensive tonearm (Ex: Graham Phantom) vs a cheaper Jelco (Approx. 500$)?

3. What makes a good arm?

Any comments from analogues expert?
acadie
schipo
1,268 posts
 
I can't tell you the difference between the two arms mentioned. I can say that most including me now believe that the tonearm just might be more important than the table itself. The table needs to be stable and rotate at proper speeds with very heavy platter. I know I am simplifying. But I think that might be major consensus.The tonearm's mass should be low as possible to avoid unnecessary wear on the grooves.There is to much here and you could fill a bible..there is a lot of great people here with enough knowledge to put you on the right track.
stanwal's avatar
stanwal
3,147 posts
 
It is my firm belief that the arm matters more than the cartridge. I think it is indisputable that a bad arm will negate most if not all the virtues of a cartridge. I have used many, presently have a Graham 2.2 set up and a Jelco 750 awaiting the restoration of a Linn LP 12. As to which arm and what design characteristics should matter there is little agreement. Choice will be governed by the compliance of your cartridge, compatibility with your table, and personal preference. Do not equate price totally with performance, companies like Jelco have economies of scale and give great value for the money. Arms made by them have sold for high prices under famous names in the past and may still for all I know. If you want the most out of your cartridge a good arm is essential; the choice is up to you: air bearing, linear tracking , unipivot, conventional. There are good arms using all these configurations.
amandarae
512 posts
 
I am with Stanwal!
It is my firm belief that the arm matters more than the cartridge

But I disagree with the other poster's statement of
The tonearm's mass should be low as possible to avoid unnecessary wear on the grooves.

I will bet all I have that a cartridge with low compliance will not sound as good when installed to low mass tonearm compared to a high mass tonearm. Why? Because it is designed with highmass tonearm in mind. So not all tonearm should have low mass. It depends on the application/cart being use. Besides, VTF dictates the force that the groove "feels" from the stylus not the tonearm mass.

If I am the one shopping for tonearms, I will buy the best that I can afford and be done with it.
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